Ursula’s before and after pictures show nobody is as perfect as they seem on social media (Picture: Ursula Goff/Instagram)

‘We should keep in mind that behind every pretty face or perfect lifestyle is a regular person,’ writes Kansas-based hairstylist (complete with rainbow hair) Ursula Goff.

Ursula often posts beautiful shots of her own hair, and her clients’, on her Instagram page, where she has over 36,000 followers.

But, just before Christmas, in a bid to show the reality behind those glam Insta-ready pictures, Ursula decided to share a side-by-side before and after shot.

‘So I didn’t edit either one of these photos, but they were taken just a few days apart,’ she wrote. ‘I think it’s important to note that lighting, angles, facial expression, and make-up make a huge difference in photography and presentation (especially in my case!).’

‘Social media can make it easy to feel like everyone else is awesome and perfect all the time, but that’s really never true,’ she adds, advising: ‘We should keep in mind that behind every pretty face or perfect lifestyle is a regular person, and that there’s really no point in comparing amongst ourselves because this is all cultivated.

‘In reality, nothing is perfect, life is messy, and people are flawed. So the best way to be happy with yourself is to cultivate YOURSELF, vs. cultivating an IMAGE, or comparing yourself to everyone else,’ she concludes.

‘Do the things you want to do, find things you love, figure out what and who you want to be, and then set out to do that stuff. Think about what matters to you, and then try to engage with those activities, people, and/or values daily. Do you. For real.’

Ursula's post in full:

So I didn’t edit either one of these photos, but they were taken just a few days apart. I think it’s important to note that lighting, angles, facial expression, and make-up make a huge difference in photography and presentation (especially in my case!).

Social media can make it easy to feel like everyone else is awesome and perfect all the time, but that’s really never true. We should keep in mind that behind every pretty face or perfect lifestyle is a regular person, and that there’s really no point in comparing amongst ourselves because this is all cultivated.

I think of all the young people out there, especially girls, who are influenced by media in this way, and I think about how badly I know I’d feel if I were a teen today, trying to cope with ever more perfect females all over the place, and how that would likely suck even worse than what prior generations had to go through. Part of the solution, I think, is more people opting to take a moment here and there to be real and show what’s behind the smoke and mirrors, because it’s relevant for y’all to know that this isn’t reality.

In reality, nothing is perfect, life is messy, and people are flawed. So the best way to be happy with yourself is to cultivate YOURSELF, vs. cultivating an IMAGE, or comparing yourself to everyone else. Do the things you want to do, find things you love, figure out what and who you want to be, and then set out to do that stuff. Think about what matters to you, and then try to engage with those activities, people, and/or values daily. Do you. For real.

Her Facebook post has been liked over 29,000 times.

Ursula, who says she suffers from social anxiety, has been amazed by the response to her post, writing on Instagram: ‘Almost every day I have woken up to another avalanche of kindness and support from people all over the world, and I have struggled to cope with it because it is completely overwhelming.’